SUFFOLK PR agency Genesis PR has appointed an experienced part-time account manager to strengthen its growing team.

Lucill Curtis has more than 15 years PR agency and in-house experience and has had both private and public sector roles managing high profile media relations programmes including the opening of firstsite arts centre in Colchester and the SnOasis inquiry in Suffolk. Her consultancy experience includes promoting major brands in the pharmaceuticals sector including Durex and working with East-Anglian based companies such as Jeyes of Thetford and Woods of Colchester.

Having graduated from Plymouth University with a degree in English Literature, Lucill has continually complemented her work experience with ongoing part-time study, most recently achieving an MBA with distinction from University Campus Suffolk in 2012 and from October she will be undertaking a PhD in management studies.

She has also gained five industry awards for excellence in PR and is a member of the Chartered Management Institute committee for the Suffolk and North Essex branch, which is committed to raising the number and standard of professionally qualified managers.

Penny Arbuthnot, director, said: “Lucill has a wealth of PR experience across several sectors and we are thrilled that she will now be able to make a valuable contribution to our client PR programmes. Having secured account wins in recent weeks, we are keen to continue growing, utilising the best of our home-grown talent, to ensure it continues to be an exciting year for our business.”

THE ITFC Charitable Trust, a local Suffolk charity working with over 60,000 young people each year, has added another member to their management team. Paul Attrill has been announced as the Trust’s new chief operating officer. Reporting to their chief executive officer Terry Baxter, as COO Paul has day to day strategic and operational responsibility for all Trust programmes.

CEO Terry Baxter said: “We are delighted to have Paul on board he is directly involved in the strategic planning processes for the Trust and it’s his job to ensure that as a charity we continue to run to budget and maximise our key charitable aims.”

As an independent charity, the Trust has to raise �1m every year to continue to provide support to the local community. Through the medium of football they inspire, motivate and improve the education and life chances of young people in Suffolk who are in need. Working with young people, often those who are hard to reach, they provide a positive direction in life, helping to prepare them to enter the workplace, whilst generating more active and productive citizens.

Paul has spent the last 20 years working within health and social care, and in the past five years his role was that of service manager with two large Suffolk charities.

Paul said of his new position with the ITFC Charitable Trust: “I have a track record of identifying and implementing required changes to enhance and improve service delivery, increasing input, reducing waiting times and working to tight budgets. All of these skills I will be utilising to ensure the Trust continues to provide much needed support to young people here in Suffolk.”

Paul is also a keen ITFC supporter and governor for his local primary school.

GRAHAM Drury, an ex-military Welfare Officer with a strong passion for caring has found a new role with an Ipswich based care company where he will be putting his many years’ experience to excellent use.

Graham, 43, who lives in Woodbridge, has joined Home Instead Senior Care on maternity cover, as a recruitment and retention coordinator. He likens his former army role to being a ‘military social worker’ and was enthusiastic about joining Home Instead, who provide care to older people in their own homes, as he felt strongly that their ethos for care was extremely well matched to his.

During his army career, Graham spent six years out in Afghanistan where he was awarded the Joint Helicopter Force Commanders Commendation. He was later awarded the Meritorious Service Certificate.

Commendations are presented to personnel who have been truly outstanding in the performance of their duties. Graham’s commendation was presented after he set up an entertainment tent for personnel, where he ran nightly entertainment including; quiz nights, poker nights and film nights. Word spread fast with other troops arriving from nearby Camp Bastion to enjoy some welcome relief from their military duties.

As a Welfare Officer for his regiment, Graham looked after 600 personnel and their families and provided a support network for both soldiers and their families. After fundraising and organising 23 day trips for families of soldiers at war, Graham was awarded the Meritorious Service Certificate, which is given to individuals who demonstrate outstanding performance or achievement in their roles.

Graham said: “I think I really caught the bug for caring whilst I was working in the military, it was my responsibility as the Welfare Officer to boost team morale and look after the welfare of my comrades. This is what lead me to look into a career in caring and I strongly believe that I possess highly transferrable skills for the role of recruitment and retention coordinator. I’m really keen to get stuck into the role and to make sure that I support the caregiver team 100%, it’s key that caregivers feel that they can talk to me about anything.”